Padres, Rays Interested In Jeremy Reed

According to John Hickey of the Seattle PI, the Padres and Rays are eyeing Mariners center fielder Jeremy Reed. Hickey notes that the Padres have renewed interest and have liked him for quite a while. And he wonders whether Rays would surrender a young pitcher. Hickey believes Reed might still be on the Ms’ roster as a showcase. The 26 year-old does have options left, though.

The White Sox drafted Reed in the second round back in ’02. He made it to Double A as a 22 year-old in ’03 and hit over .400 in a half season.

Reed injured his wrist playing for Team USA that November, but said it wasn’t the cause of his poor spring with the Sox in ’04. Instead, a partial shoulder dislocation may have been to blame. Reed wasn’t terribly impressive in his first stint at Triple A, but he was young for his level (and still made the Futures Game).

Days after that game Kenny Williams shipped Reed to Seattle as the centerpiece of the Freddy Garcia trade. Reed hit better at Triple A as a member of Rainiers. Then he posted a tiny-sample .397 average in a September cup of coffee.

Reed displaced Randy Winn as the Mariners’ starting center fielder to begin the ’05 season. He hit poorly in all months outside of May, however. He had two injuries on the year – a concussion in July and a season-ending torn left wrist ligament in September.

Reed was a hot commodity in the 2005-06 offseason, with the Red Sox offering Matt Clement or Bronson Arroyo. The Ms added Matt Lawton in December but Reed stayed put.

In Spring Training of ’06, Reed injured his right wrist. It was originally diagnosed as broken but turned out to be a 12-18 year-old fracture. He was ready for Opening Day, but hit his way out of the lineup by May. Reed then broke his thumb in July, a season-ending injury. Reed was healthy by spring ’07 but didn’t make the team. He posted an .806 OPS at Triple A and earned a September call-up. In 22 ABs this spring, Reed’s hit .318/.407/.364.

Reed looks like a decent buy-low pickup, but his star has faded from all the injuries. His destiny may be as a fourth outfielder. He’s got two years of service time, so he could be arbitration-eligible after this season.